By Your Side
by Hellmaster Fibby
Summary: AU. During one of his childhood escapades, Prince Yuta meets an interesting little girl with tawny brown eyes. Years later, they meet again at a very unexpected event - What! You're a bridal candidate for who! - a YutaNina fic
1. Boy Meets Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Ultra Maniac. If I did, I'd know why it's entitled the way it is. And honestly, I have no clue... so yeah. You guys get the point. -.-; I have only seen the animated TV series and read some of the manga translations. Other than that, I have no clue about this anime.

I want this to be a stress relieving fan fic on my part so I'm not going to worry about writing style.

_**An AU UM fan fiction. **_Ever wonder what kind of prince Yuta would make? This element considered, then throw a little Yuta/Nina romance: this is what you get...

* * *

**By Your Side**

Chapter Title: "Boy Meets Girl"

-o-o-

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The frantic yells were heard throughout the castle as the clanks of heavy metal filled the hallways. It was once again morning in the Magic Kingdom, and as always the distraught scurry-maid had brought the breakfast platter inside the royal chambers only to find the young prince missing... again.

One would think that they had sense enough to take severe precautions, given that the prince did this almost every morning. But the young lad was always one step ahead of them, and he never failed to evade their attempts.

Rumored to be a born genius at magic, the young prince was never gentle in dealing with his captors. In fact, there was even a time when he blew up part of the castle just to express his mild annoyance at their persistence. Seeing that it was futile to try and keep him in custody, they resigned themselves to searching the castle grounds whenever the young prince decided to disappear.

It was more peaceful that way.

Yuta sniggered as he crept by the gigantic guards standing near the gate entrance. With their backs turned to him and an invisible cloak camouflaging his small body, they had no way of knowing that the mischievous prince was about to do his greatest feat ever...

He was going to town.

-o-o-

"Nina! Nina!"

Turning around, the little girl with auburn hair tilted her head and asked. "What is it, Rio-chan?"

Rio cast a wary look at the basket she was carrying. "You going to pick some flowers or something?" he asked, eyeing the sunflower tucked behind her ear.

Nina pouted at this. "No," she answered sternly. Nina continued walking as the small gray cat followed. "If you must know, Rio, I'm going on an errand for Mama. She wanted some fresh vegetables to cook for dinner."

"Why? She'll mess up cooking anyway. Might as well conjure up something to eat."

She cast a disapproving look at her rude pet. "That's not very nice, Rio."

Transforming into his human form, little Rio latched onto Nina's yellow skirt. "Ne... Aren't we going to play, Nina?" he whined.

She sighed and said, "I'll bring the vegetables to Mama first, then we'll play. Is that okay?"

"If you buy me tuna, I'll behave." Rio grinned at her, his big sparkly eyes pleading for her to agree.

Who could resist those cute pitiful eyes?

"Oh, all right. But only one," Nina told him

-o-o-

Yuta threw his head back in laughter. "That was too easy!"

Letting his mirth die down first, he began walking towards town. It was his first time outside the castle and he hadn't really planned on anything once he got outside, but it would be a total waste if he did not make the most out of the situation, right?

He looked around, his curious eyes taking in everything around him. There were a lot of plain-looking people going about their business, not minding the fact that there was a lone little boy wandering on his own. Their houses were nothing much to look at, aside from the fact that they looked exactly like the ones featured in the picture book he had back at the castle.

All in all, everything in town looked so... ordinary.

"Awww," he murmured in open disappointment. Yuta raised both brows, bringing his hands to the back of his head. "Bo-ring!" remarked the uninterested boy.

Although it was his first time seeing the town, he was not really the type to marvel at... well... ordinary things.

Yuta continued trudging along the pavement, looking around, when a loud girlish cry caught his attention. He turned to where it came from.

Nina sighed and looked down at her muddy yellow dress. "And it was a new dress, too..." she complained ruefully.

Rio glared daggers at the offending carriage already a few meters away. "Hey! Watch where you're going, mister!" he yelled furiously, shaking his small fists. "Geez... People nowadays have even worse manners than mine!" He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter..." Nina smiled at him, trying to sound optimistic. "At least the vegetables didn't get dirty. Ne?"

Rio gave her a blank look. "Um... Nina..." He pointed at the basket she was carrying.

She blinked, then shifted her gaze to the basket. "H-Hwaa?" The vegetables were all covered in mud! She turned to Rio with tears in her eyes. "What are we going to do, Rio-chan!" she cried in panic. "I spent most of the money Mama gave me on these!"

A small frown formed on her face when she heard boyish laughter coming from across the street.

There was a young boy with light dirty blonde hair pointing to her direction, laughing so hard his whole body was jerking. "Ahahahah! That was too funny!" he cried in mirth. Seeing the indignant expression on her face, the ill-mannered boy burst into yet another fit of laughter.

Nina marched resolutely towards him as the boy continued to laugh at her. He stopped when she suddenly thrust her mud-stained face at him with her cheeks puffed up, trying in vain to stare him down with her weak glare.

This only made the boy smirk in amusement. "What are you trying to do? Kill me with your ugly face?"

Nina shook with repressed anger, blushing from both embarrassment and fury.

Rio immediately stood to his master's defense. "Who do you think you are, anyway? You some kind of sadist or what?"

The boy raised a brow at the gray haired toddler glaring at him. "And if I am? What are you planning to do about it, eh shortie?"

"This!" With a small poof, Rio transformed into his cat form and bit the ill-mannered youth into submission.

"Ack! Get off me!" the boy yelled, shaking the irritated feline off his sleeve.

Anger dissolving, Nina decided to help. "Don't, Rio-chan!" She took the annoyed kitten into her arms, holding him firmly as he squirmed to get free. "Let me at 'im, Nina! I'm gonna get him good!" the gray cat kept yelling.

Nina stroked his furry head, calming him. "It's okay now, Rio-chan." She turned to face the ill-mannered boy. "What you did wasn't very nice," she told him, earning an indifferent shrug from the boy. She frowned. "Who are you, anyway? I've never seen you around here before."

He regarded her for a moment, then answered. "Yuta."

Nina blinked in surprise. "W-What?"

A bit annoyed, he reiterated. "That's my name. Yuta. Are you stupid or something?"

She pouted at his last remark. "I knew that. I'm not stupid, you know. I was just surprised that someone like you had manners at all!" Rio snickered at this, earning a glare from Yuta.

"Where are you from? Do you live around here?" she asked curiously.

Yuta stared at the girl with tawny brown eyes, intrigued by her sudden change in attitude. _One minute she was all cheesed off at me, the next she acts as though she wants to be my friend. _

Realizing that she was still expecting an answer from him, he stumbled on his words. "Er... Kind of."

She tilted her head at his response. Her eyes brightened as a look of understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, you mean you're just visiting?"

Yuta thought for a while. "Yeah. You could say that."

"Then I'll show you around! You don't mind, do you?" Without waiting for his answer, Nina took his hand and dragged him along as she ran.

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me!"

A smile appeared on her face. "You'll see," she told him.

-o-o-

Next chapter: _Ten Years Later..._

_-o-o-_

There's not much UM fan fictions to go around so I'm also gonna make a Nina/Tsujiai fic. Haha! ;-D 'Sha nga pala. Sa mga Pinoy na nagbabasa dyan - magparamdam naman kayo! hehe.

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	2. Unexpected Rendezvous

Disclaimer: I do not own Ultra Maniac, nor do I own its lovable characters. Please don't sue me! Me have no money! By the way, thank you so much to all the wonderful reviewers! ;D

The first chapter may be a little misleading... This story actually takes place ten years _after_ they met. Things will become clearer as you read on. At least, I hope it would. (sweat drops)

* * *

**By Your Side**

Chapter Title: "An Unexpected Rendezvous"

-o-o-

It was a day unlike any other. The whole town bustled with excitement as preparations were made for the grand ball that evening. After all, it _was_ the prince's seventeenth birthday. Nonetheless, this was nothing extraordinary to the ignorant mind, for the royal family held such anticipated events profusely throughout the year. Then again, this was no ordinary ball. At least this is what her parents kept telling her.

Nina sighed heavily as she stared at the glittering yellow gown hanging in her walk-in closet.

Smiling a little, she lightly traced the soft fabric with her long fingers. Perhaps the only consolation Nina had in this whole ordeal was that the new evening robes they bought her was in her favorite color. "Way to think optimistically," she congratulated herself, entirely pleased.

Besides, it was very much unlike her to worry about such things. It was ludicrous for her to even think she should be worrying! After all, she need not concern herself with matters that are obviously beyond her reach. Despite the overstated words of encouragement from her parents and the occasional compliment elicited out of pity, she was no stranger to the fact that she was not the greatest at magic. In fact, she was not an excellent witch at all. She was anything _but _a witch worthy of praise, let alone the future bride of the prince.

Of course, she had had her own little fantasy that maybe the young prince would consider her to be his bride. Who hadn't? Most of the other girls in the Magic Kingdom had at some point in their life, why shouldn't she? She may be a little strange at times, but she was not any different from them.

At any rate, she was over that now and had accepted her fate; a less than promising witch like her could never become a bridal candidate for the prince.

If only her parents would see the obvious...

Letting out another sigh, Nina traversed the room and went to sit down in front of her vanity to get ready for the ball. Hopeless as she was to be chosen as a candidate, she still wanted to look nice. Maybe she would even get to at least _meet_ the prince this one time, being elusive as he was during such events.

Who knows? Maybe she could get him to give her some tips on magic. He is, after all, the greatest wizard in their time.

-o-o-

"I hate this," a long haired teenager muttered bitterly, tugging on his deep blue vest impatiently.

A tall man with dark hair chuckled at the young prince. Putting on a clueless face, he asked in jest. "Which one, the ball or the vest?"

Yuta tried his best to look peeved, but the trace of a smile was still evident on his face. "You know very well what I mean, Charles." At this, Charles let out a small guffaw. He shook his head in mirth and said, "Yes, very well indeed. You have only been raving about it since the day His Majesty and Her Highness had told you about their plan to hold the engagement ball on your birthday, as you put it, 'of all the bloody days in this decade.' Am I on target, young master?"

Yuta raised a brow. The smile he was holding back a while ago reappeared. "Was I? Then I suppose I must stop all this complaining and do something about it," stated the young prince, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

An anxious look crossed the older man's features. "Are you thinking of doing something inappropriate again, young master? You know what happened the last time..."

Yuta shook his head. "No, nothing like that. But I would appreciate it very much if I could at least get myself out of this stupid ball."

"What did you have in mind, then?"

"I would need your help on this one, Charles. Would you do it? After all, you know me better than anyone else. It's perfect! Absolutely brilliant!" Yuta looked at his confidante eagerly for an answer.

Charles let out a sigh of defeat. "What do I have to do?"

The prince smirked at this, the twinkle still in his eyes. "Simple." The smirk grew wider as Charles dreaded the next few words that came out of his mouth.

"Be me for the evening."

-o-o-

Nina gasped at the sight of the ballroom as she stepped onto the soft carpet beneath her. It was... magnificent, for lack of better word. The entire ballroom seemed to glitter with its golden walls newly polished and the silverware reflecting the light from the crystal chandeliers. The deep crimson drapes on the large windows provided a rough contrast to the glimmering sight, pulling the whole atmosphere together. Of course, she had seen such wonderful set-ups before, but this definitely outdid the previous balls held in the castle.

There was no doubt about it. This was indeed the night when the bridal candidates would be chosen for the prince.

Suddenly self-conscious, the girl with auburn hair straightened her gown at the back and descended on the flight of stairs. She looked around for a friendly face. Then her face lit up. Who she saw did not exactly _look_ friendly, but was someone she knew ever since childhood.

"Maya!"

The blonde haired girl lifted an eye brow at her and said in an uninterested tone, "Hey."

"Isn't this exciting?" Nina glanced around enthusiastically. "Look at everyone! They really prepared for this night! I wonder who the candidates would be?" Her tawny brown eyes brightened as a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh, Maya!" She took the hand of her childhood friend. "_You_ could be chosen! After all, you came from the Orihara family!"

Maya stared blankly at Nina for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "Why must you be so enthusiastic for me? What about you? Perhaps the prince would consider..." She trailed off when Nina began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Nina smiled with glee and hugged her. "You hold me too much in high regard sometimes, Maya-chan," mused the auburn haired girl, reverting back to the old nickname she used to call her childhood friend.

"But I really do not see the reason why the prince would not choose you. You are in fact... What now?" Maya huffed impatiently when Nina began to giggle again.

Nina shook her head. "Nothing, nothing." She took the other girl's hand and led her to where the people were now gathering. "Come on, I think it's starting."

-o-o-

"Young master! What did you do to your hair!"

Yuta rolled his eyes as he placed the disposed hair in a small sack and pushed it under his bed. "Okay, so it's a bit shorter now, but I used to wear my hair like this when I was a child. I think you're overreacting, Charles."

"A bit!" exclaimed Charles, too flabbergasted to maintain regal demeanor. "You cut at least ten inches of your long hair! What will His Majesty say?" The prince's royal companion paced nervously, dreading the answer to his own question.

Laughing a bit, the prince shook his head. "Relax... I needed to cut it for the spell I am going to use, okay? It's not like I can't use my magic to grow it all back after this."

Charles fell silent, then whispered, "I suppose so..."

"Good." Yuta motioned him to sit on the bed. "Stay there and leave the rest up to me." With one last smile at his confidante, he closed his eyes and began to chant.

-o-o-

"Do you think the prince will be here tonight?" Nina whispered to Maya.

Her childhood friend simply shrugged. "He ought to be," she told the other girl, then muttered incoherently under her breath. "He'd better be. I was forced to wear pink because of this ridiculous event."

Nina blinked. "What was that, Maya?"

"Nothing," replied Maya, closing her eyes. After a while, she snuck a peek to her right side and saw that her friend was still looking at her. As a distraction, the blonde haired girl simply stated, "It's starting."

The auburn haired girl immediately shifted her attention towards the royal balcony. "Really?"

Fortunately, the timing was perfect. The moment Nina looked upward, trumpets sounded to announce the arrival of the royal family. The auburn haired girl eagerly tiptoed to get a better view, but was disappointed when she saw that the prince was not there. Her shoulders dropped. _Not there... I wonder where he is?_ she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, the same question was being asked above. "Where is that boy?" King Viagro hissed impatiently at his right hand man.

"He is not in his room, Your Majesty," whispered the man clad in a ruffled shirt and puffed breeches.

The king grumbled in frustration. "He never changes. When I get my hands on that..."

"What do you plan to do, father?" an amused voice interrupted him. The king turned around and saw 'Yuta' smirking at him. The king looked relieved at the sight of the prince. "Good, you're here. Come." He motioned his son to take the seat next to him.

Excited murmurs traveled quickly as the crowd below realized that the young prince had just arrived.

"It's the prince!" Nina exclaimed enthusiastically. Grinning at the blonde haired girl beside her, she teased, "He looks really handsome tonight, Maya..."

Maya rolled her eyes. "And you're as hopeless as ever, Nina." The other girl simply laughed, causing the former to sigh in exasperation. "Like I said..." the blonde haired girl muttered. "Hopeless."

Shaking her head, Maya stared at the still laughing Nina. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether her friend was just the happy-go-lucky type, or maybe has more than a screw loose in that silly head of hers.

-o-o-

"It has been a while since I last used this," Yuta whispered to himself as he lifted the invisibility cloak from his body. Taking a quick look around him, he realized that he had somehow wandered into the terrace of the grand ballroom. "How convenient," he muttered. He looked to where all the girls were gathered, hanging onto every word that was being said. Out of curiosity, he entered the room and joined the other crowd just behind them, where all the parents and relatives of the girls were.

He grinned widely when he saw Charles looking at him from the balcony above.

Nina did not miss any of it. The small smile which escaped the lips of the prince had interested her, especially since he was directing it to someone in the crowd. She looked behind her and tried to figure out which of the girls he was looking at.

It was hard to tell, really.

A light frown formed on her forehead, her curiosity still not satisfied. Lips pursed, she decided to leave it be. Nina turned her attention back to the speaker.

"... and so the announcement regarding the bridal candidates will be made tomorrow. For the mean time, please enjoy the evening."

Nina blinked. She had not been listening the whole time and was clueless about what had just been said. The girl with auburn hair turned to Maya. "What are we supposed to do again?"

Maya stared at her in disbelief. "Weren't you listening? He said that the decision will be made tonight, but we would not know until tomorrow."

"Oh, right..." her voice trailed off. "Okay then! Let's go have fun, Maya!" She made a swift move to grab her friend's hand but was evaded. Maya curtly shook her head. "No way. I am going to sit over there if it's all the same to you." She gestured towards an empty velvet chair near the wall. "And I do not plan to move from that spot until this whole thing is over." With that, she went to her sanctuary.

Nina made a face as she stared at the retreating back of her childhood friend. "Oh, pooh. You're no fun..."

She shrugged. "Oh well!" Nina glanced around cheerfully, taking in the atmosphere. Most of the girls in the room seemed anxious, but who could blame them? It was the night they had all been waiting for... It was the night their future would be decided.

Not for her, of course. Nina grinned at the thought. Sometimes, it was a good thing to be dead-last.

She knew they were all waiting for the prince to join the celebration, but she was not about to get suffocated in the crowd that would surely enclose him once he stepped onto the ballroom floor.

Nina glanced around to look for her parents and found them waltzing slowly on the dance floor. The auburn haired girl sweat dropped, not because of how intimate her parents were (she was used to that at home), but because the music playing at the moment was rumba.

The faint sound of girls giggling caught her attention. She turned to where it was coming from and saw a boy her age having a lively conversation with six girls. The boy was rather attractive with his unusual aqua green eyes. He had dirty blonde hair... actually, it seemed to be more of a light ochre shade but she was not good with colors anyway. He also seemed to be the type who was popular with girls. Nina raised her two eye brows when she saw three more girls join the conversation. That became obvious quickly enough.

He seemed pretty much okay, although he looked like the arrogant type.

But what really struck her the most about him was that he seemed familiar to her somehow... She quickly shrugged off the prospect. It could not be possible, of course. She had never been fortunate enough to travel outside the town, and living there all her life, she knew he was not from around. He was probably a foreigner.

She stopped to ponder on her thoughts. _Wait a second..._ Her eyes widened in recognition as she stared at the boy more closely.

_Could it possibly be him...?_

-o-o-

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	3. Some Things Never Change

Disclaimer: I do not own Ultra Maniac, nor do I own its lovable characters. Please don't sue me!

Thank you so much to all the wonderful reviews! Wow, it had been a while (more like years!) since I last wrote, and I hope I do justice to all your expectations from this story. Here goes…

* * *

**By Your Side**

Chapter Title: "Some Things Never Change"

-o-o-

This was not how he had expected his night of freedom would turn out. Yuta sighed inwardly as a few more girls joined the small group he had inadvertently formed.

"Could you tell us more about your adventures? Oh, please!" a crimson haired girl begged.

Yuta smiled weakly as the other girls agreed enthusiastically. Trying to be polite, he decided to evade the request by asking the crimson haired girl some questions of his own. "I think we've all heard enough about me for tonight. What about you? Perhaps you could share with us something interesting about yourself. I would love to learn more about you and your life here."

The crimson haired girl blushed at his words. "Well…" she began slowly, looking up shyly at the charming young man who simply raised his brows to prod her to continue. "There really isn't much to say about little old me…"

_Works every time_, Yuta thought to himself. He chuckled to hide his mirth. If these stupid girls were not so concentrated on his facial features, Yuta would have allowed himself to smirk. Having been surrounded all his life by girls who often vied for his attention, Yuta realized that the most effective way to keep a persistent girl tongue-tied is to express interest in her. After all, he was perfectly aware that in their culture, a young woman must always act meek towards men in order to be considered desirable. With this expectation in mind, any girl in her right mind would try her best to fit the description whenever she is in front of a young man she liked. Yuta, on the other hand, disliked meek women simply because they are not interesting enough for him. Lucky for him, none of these girls knew his unconventional taste.

Yuta paused, his thoughts involuntarily leading him to a certain auburn haired girl he met a few years ago. _I wonder if she's here_, he thought to himself. It had been a while since he saw her, and the young man found himself yearning to see the girl who never failed to keep him amused.

As if on cue, his eyes rested on a girl with tawny brown eyes watching him. Yuta smiled in amusement as the auburn haired girl panicked, embarassed at being caught staring. She quickly hid her face behind her hands, as though it would actually help to conceal her identity. The young girl kept her hands on her red face as she desperately tried to look for a way out. Yuta smirked, thoroughly entertained. _What a silly girl_. He noted that it probably did not even occur to her that she would bump into people if she tried to exit the ballroom that way.

Finally noticing that the young man was not paying any attention to them, one of the girls asked curiously, "What is it that caught your attention, sir?"

Yuta automatically reverted back to his gracious demeanour, flashing a smile at the young ladies. "I just remembered that I am needed somewhere," he explained as he gave a courteous bow. "If you'll excuse me, ladies… I must go and meet an old friend of mine."

-o-o-

"Excuse me!" Nina apologized as a fat lady pushed her roughly aside.

The fat lady raised a thin brow, eyeing Nina through mascara-laden lashes. "Watch where you are going, silly girl!" she yelled, annoyed at the young lady who caused her to spill the contents of her wine glass. With a huff, the fat lady turned on her heel and walked towards the refreshments table.

Even though the lady had already turned her back on Nina, the auburn haired girl still bowed to apologize. "I'm really sorry about your drink…" Nina heaved a sigh. _What a great night this is turning out to be_. Ruefully, she headed towards the exit of the castle grounds.

-o-o-

Yuta pushed his way through the crowd, looking for the auburn haired girl. A slight frown formed on his handsome features as he tried to figure out where she could have gone to. Then a thought came to him. _Of course! _Yuta suddenly looked pleased with himself. _She would definitely be there. Yuta, you are a genius indeed_.

-o-o-

Nina pulled on the ornament decorating her hair, letting the auburn locks cascade gracefully to her shoulders. She took off her silver stilettos and settled on the unsullied grass that covered the ground of her secret sanctuary. Nina sighed as she dipped a toe into the glimmering water in front of her. The lake was undeniably beautiful even on normal days, but on a starry evening like this, it looked absolutely fascinating. It looked as though the water was filled with precious gems. The lush grounds made it even more inviting, and the faint sound of rushing water calmed her senses.

Mindlessly, the young girl began to play with the gold necklace she was wearing. Tilting her head to one side, she gazed at the pendant adorning her simple necklace. A small emerald was placed in the middle of the complicated embellishments on the pendant. She narrowed her eyes to look closely at the gem. Considering that it was already dark outside, onlookers would definitely find her amusing. And that was exactly how Yuta found her.

The young man smiled as he watched the tawny eyed girl inspect the piece of jewelry. Yuta knew exactly where she got that necklace, and it pleased him that she kept it with her all this time.

Nina pursed her lips, tucking her legs neatly beneath her wrinkled yellow gown. _It couldn't be him_, she told herself.

"You know… you could have just smiled and said hi," a masculine voice suddenly spoke up, visibly causing the young girl to get startled.

Her tawny brown eyes widened as she stared at her old acquaintance.

"Hey, Nina." Yuta grinned at the surprised look on her adorable face. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Am I _that_ bad-looking?"

She eyed him incredulously. "Is that really you, Yuta?"

"No, I'm just your imagination." He smirked and added, "I'm sure you constantly daydreamed about me ever since the day we met." He winked playfully at Nina, causing her to blush guiltily. "So you _do_ daydream about me? I knew I was irresistible, but I was only seven when we met!"

Nina stuck her tongue out at him. "No!" She turned away to look at the glimmering water before them. She seemed to be lost in thought as she spoke. "When I go here, I usually try to remember what you taught me back then... I know I did not believe you at the time, but when I began attending Magic Academy, I realized you really _were_ good at magic for your age. I told my teacher about you and he did not believe me, saying that a seven year old boy could not possibly do what you showed me back then." Nina shrugged as she finished her story. "I guess he thought I was just lying to get his attention."

"So you're finally admitting that I'm a genius?" Yuta smirked as he raised a brow at the auburn haired girl expectantly.

"Yuta, you haven't changed at all," Nina remarked, laughing.

Yuta placed a hand on his chin, his eyes lingering on her chest. "And you haven't changed a bit!" he winked.

Her face flushed at his words. Nina narrowed her eyes at him, covering her chest. "Hey! That's not very nice!"

"What are you doing that for? You have nothing to hide, Nina" Yuta stated in a matter of fact manner.

Nina stuck her tongue out at him, her arms crossed.

Yuta chuckled at this. He held out his arm for her and said, "You'd better get back to the ballroom. You left your parents behind, in case you don't remember."

Nina let out a squeal. "I completely forgot about them!"

-o-o-

Meanwhile, 'Prince Yuta' silently cursed to himself. _No wonder the young lord hated these fancy events_, Charles thought as he finished a dance with another giggling brunette.

King Viagro approached the 'young prince' and whispered, "What about that young lady, child? I heard she came from a distinguished family."

Charles knew exactly how the young prince would react to those words. With an indifferent shrug, he replied, "Distinguished like the ugly mole on her lip, I bet."

That was all the old king could take. He had been working so hard all his life to ensure the future of the Magic Kingdom, and yet his ungrateful son did nothing but make it even more difficult. He tried to be a reasonable father, but it was time to impose his will on that hardheaded son of his.

"Enough is enough!" His angry voice thundered throughout the enclosed space of the ballroom. Everyone grew silent as they listened.

Nina was shocked to hear the angry roar of the good-natured king, clueless of what had happened. They had just arrived in the ballroom when they heard the King's angry outburst. With a concerned look on his face, Yuta quickly excused himself. Nina was too shocked to notice that her old friend already took off.

"Bring out the crystals!" the King ordered angrily. His right hand man quickly scampered to fetch the magic crystals in the forbidden room. "Call the elders! We will convene in the royal chambers. Now!"

As soon as the King disappeared behind the curtains, murmurs erupted among the guests, wild speculations quickly forming.

Nina stood there, perplexed. Minutes later, she finally realized that her companion was gone. She looked around. "Yuta?"

-o-o-

Charles looked remorseful, his shoulders drooped. "I apologize, Young Master… I did not know that it would anger him this much…"

Yuta shook his head slowly, trying to comfort his confidante. "It was not your fault, Charles." He heaved a sigh. "I would have done exactly the same things you did, anyway. You know very well that I had been provoking him for years now… I am not exactly a good son towards him; you know that as well as I do, Charles."

"I suppose…" the old man agreed reluctantly. "However, the King ordered to bring out the crystals… You know what that means, Young Master…"

Yuta answered with a slight nod. A serious look formed on his handsome features. "He is going to let the crystals choose the bridal candidates for me…"

-o-o-

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(Author's note added on 04/14/11): I think I remember how this story was supposed to go, but I need your help...

Ayu and the others will make an appearance, but I can't decide what to do with them. I will do what the majority wants, so put in your review what you want to happen... Yuta/Nina/Tsujiai or Yuta/Nina/Kaji love triangle? Or do you want me to put together Ayu/Kaji or Ayu/Tsujiai? Or should I just avoid other pairings and make their relationships platonic? There are so many possibilities... but definitely, Yuta and Nina would end up together. I'm so frustrated with this pairing, they should have ended up together in the manga! (starts crying) T_T


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